Update: Food Scientists Have Created Four Types of GMO “Non-Browning” Apples, Including the New GMO Gala Apple

 

 

In October 2024, GMO Gala apples were approved for consumption at restaurants, stores and food service retailers despite what critics decry as a lack of testing for possible negative health effects on the environment and people.

The parent company of these fruits, Okanagan Specialty Fruits, has battled protesters, petitions and the press for months and first got approval for its new “genetically engineered apple that doesn’t turn brown” back in 2016. That original apple was given the FDA’s green light despite no independent, pre-market testing and no feeding trials.

Now, after years of speculation, three different GMO apples, as well as pre-sliced apple packages, have hit store shelves. The GMO Gala apples could soon follow.

With no easily distinguishable GMO labels and very little information to distinguish the genetically engineered version from natural apples, buyers everywhere are being used as guinea pigs.

 

How GMO Apples Got Their Start

As noted by news reports including this one by CNN.com, a small amount of Golden Delicious apples that have been genetically engineered by Okanagan were expected to hit 10 stores in the Midwest in early 2017, ranging from February through March.

Shipments have continued since then into the 2020s.

Very little information has surfaced on where the GMO apples are being shipped, which is just part of the frustration with the new GMO apples — they are not labeled as being GMO, and the company itself declined to mention which stores they were headed to including what stores. The apples were labeled only with the ‘Arctic’ apple name, but consumers who presumably bought them likely had no idea they were genetically modified in a laboratory to be “non-browning.”

The lack of traceability and accountability is just part of the reason why the apples have been widely opposed in consumer polls; nearly 70% of Canadians did not want it approved.

Still, biotech companies have been promoting the GMO apple across Canada, in order to sway public opinion, much the same way that Monsanto and other biotech companies have donated money to schools for pro-GMO, heavily biased “educational” programs (learn more in this article).

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According to a post from the Facebook page GMO Free USA in fall 2016, a new genetically engineered Fuji apple was approved by in the last decade the USDA, much in the same way that the original ‘Arctic’ apple was approved in 2015.

In total, four new genetically engineered, non-browning apples have been approved: Arctic Golden, Arctic Granny Smith, and now the Arctic Fuji apple, along with the new Gala apples.

gmo apple

Fuji apples are the latest variety that have been genetically engineered. Starting this fall, buying organic is the best way to avoid GMO Fuji apples. Photo via SpecialtyProduce.com.

Because of safety testing loopholes, consumers have served as the guinea pigs for what is being dubbed the “botox” apple by the GMO fruit company.

These GMO apples don’t turn brown the way that organic apples do, leading people to wonder whether consumers could inadvertently end up eating rotting, contaminated fruit without knowing.

“This whole thing is just another big experiment on humans for no good reason,” said the late Organic Consumers Association former president Ronnie Cummins.

Following their approval, the Organic Consumers Association launched a campaign to prevent companies from using the unlabeled “GMO apples that don’t turn brown,” and it has made strides. McDonald’s, Gerber baby food and Wendy’s have pledged to not use them.

The biggest target market for the apples, will be restaurants and food service companies who want to make past their prime apples look fresh.

Pre-sliced apples are often frequently recalled for safety reasons, but no one knows how these new GMO experiments will affect the human body. They work by “silencing” the gene that normally makes them go brown, long term effects on human populations are unknown.

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Fourth GMO Apple Approved

The fourth GMO apple was approved in October 2024, called the Arctic Gala Apple.

Okanagan Specialty Fruits president Don Westcott said that the aim of the company is its “sustainability mission,” a vague promise that has kept consumers in the dark.

He added that consumers, restaurants and retailers are expected to carry the GMO apple. If the GMO Gala Apple is not labeled as usual, then consumers won’t have much of a clue as to whether they are eating it or not at these and other potential locations.

How to Avoid the GMO Apples

According to the website CapitalPress.com,  Arctic Golden GMO apples were expected to be sliced and sold in grocery stores for marketing purposes in the western U.S.

The company is growing most of its own apples in the Pacific Northwest, on the East Coast, and in Canada, and also recently just hired staff to gear up for a commercial launch and PR campaign for more non-browning GMO apples.

The new GMO Gala apples could be the next ones to watch out for in the coming months and years.

Retailers, food service and quick-serve restaurants have all expressed interest in using the GMO apples according to the CapitalPress report, which means that people eating out may unwillingly become test subjects.

In order to make sure you’re avoiding the new GMO apples…

-Buy certified organic or Non-GMO Project Verified whenever possible, or from a trusted local farmer

-Do not buy any apples labeled ‘Arctic,’ which may be designated with a sticker or special packaging

-Avoid Apples from the Okanagan Specialty Fruits company

-Avoid buying any unlabeled or unknown pre-sliced apple brands, like those found in cafeterias or kids’ meals

-Ask your local restaurants or cafes for information, and ask them NOT to carry to the GMO non-browning apples

 

U.S. Apple Farmers Avoid GMOs 

Many of the top apple industry players have spoken out against GMO apples.

They include the Northwest Horticultural Council, which represents Washington apple growers responsible for over 60% of the U.S. crop, the U.S. Apple Association, and the British Columbia Fruit Growers Association. While the non-browning apple may be a boon for processed food giants and restaurants or cafes that want to save a buck on the non-browning aspect of these apples, the effects on human health are unknown, and avoiding it may prove to be exceedingly difficult over time if they are allowed to flow through the food supply unchecked.

“As usual, this product only benefits the biotech industry and big food processing companies,” wrote The Center for Food Safety on a petition page designed to get more food companies on board with boycotting the new GE apples.

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This article was written in 2016 and updated in February 2025. 

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About Nick Meyer

Nick Meyer is a journalist who's been published in the Detroit Free Press, Dallas Morning News and several other outlets. He founded AltHealthWORKS in 2012 to showcase extraordinary stories of healing and the power of organic living, stories the mainstream media always seemed to miss. Check out Nick's Amazon best-seller 'Dirt Cheap Organic: 101 Tips For Going Organic on a Budget' by clicking here, as well as its sequel Dirt Cheap Weight Loss.

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